Post by Doc Holiday on Feb 25, 2024 5:35:16 GMT -5
The scene opens up in a dark room. Only faintly you can see a bed and some shades that are shut, but light still illuminates through them. An alarm clock reads '11:33' in big red block letters. All of a sudden the ring for an incoming Facetime lights up the phone that is sitting on the same nightstand as the alarm clock. A hand reaches up and shuts it off. A few moments later it goes off again, yet again reaches up from under the cover and switches off the phone. For a third time the phone's ringer goes off finally the person sits up in the bed and grabs the phone. He answers the call.
"Man, don't you know that when someone ignores your first two attempts on Facetime, they really don't want to talk to you. Like at all" the voice says.
"Desmond, I'm concerned. I haven't talked to you in a couple months and we were really starting to get somewhere with your therapy" the other voice says.
With the little light that the screen produces to make out Action Wrestling Superstar, Doc Holiday's face. "I just haven't had time to schedule an appointment."
"Well you keep rescheduling and you actually forgot to reschedule this one so that's why I called." It is now apparent that this Doc's therapist, Dr. Eli.
"Shit, I knew I forgot something!" Doc says.
"What are you still doing in bed at 11:30 in the morning?" Dr. Eli asks.
Doc looks around for a second, "Truthfully, I don't feel like doing a fucking thing right now, I'm inside my head a lot lately."
"Not too beat a dead horse here, Desmond, but you could have been working through this before it got to that point." a caring, yet slightly annoyed, Dr. Eli says.
"Yeah, I guess, but I'm a man, that's what I'm supposed to do right? Just bury it deep down inside until it finally gets to be too much and I just sit here in bed for a few days and let it all out?" Doc says nonchalantly.
Dr. Eli closes his eyes, slightly annoyed, by the stereotypical words Doc just said. "No, that's not a healthy way to live, Desmond."
"I literally have no one else to vent to. I'm a lone wolf in Action Wrestling, everybody wants a piece of me and nobody's really there to talk to. Even when I was in Tailor Made, was I supposed to tell Jessie this shit? Hell nah, she would've told me to sack up! TFK? Don't make me laugh. Jens? He barely knows where he's at when he wakes up in the morning." Doc explains
"You have my number, you know can always text me if you need me" Dr. Eli says to Doc
Doc gives the same annoyed look that Dr. Eli gave him before, "I'd rather just deal with it exactly how I've always dealt with it. I'm not a bitch."
"Your mental health is just as important as any other health." Dr. Eli explains.
"So I'm supposed to call you any time that I feel like the whole world is against me, that the fans don't really like me, that the only time I feel any real value is when I'm holding a championship around my waist? That if I lose that title, especially now after I worked so hard to get it, that my whole fucking career would be ruined." Doc says in a flurry, without hesitation, saying everything that was on his mind.
Pausing for a moment to take it all in, Dr. Eli takes a second to collect his thoughts. "Your success isn't measured by how many titles you win or if you have a title right now. There are plenty of wrestlers who are still widely renowned that don't carry a title"
"I've never felt that way. I've always been taught that you weren't shit unless you were at the top of the podium, with your coach placing a gold medal around your neck. Then when I couldn't capture that at Iowa, I've always felt like a failure, and I've chased every championship I could" his feelings just pour out as Doc explains how he feels.
"You have to remember that injuries happen. Besides you gotta do what a ton of other kids only wish they could do." Dr. Eli says reassuring Doc.
"Like what? Fail at the biggest level?" Doc says with a snarky attitude.
"For one, you got to wrestle at the collegiate level somewhat successfully, and second of all, you got to wrestle and start at the most prestigious wrestling school. The University of Iowa." Dr. Eli points out Doc's accomplishments.
"But I never won an NCAA title" Doc brings up something that apparently still plagues him today. Something that still eats at him like an obsessive that reminds him every day.
"I'm going to tell you something Desmond, and it might not sink in until later, but I have to tell a lot of children this." Dr. Eli pauses for a second. "What's in the past is in the past. You can't go back and change it. If you obsess over it, it will only continue to leak into other parts of your life. That's what's happening to you right now. That's why you go through phases like this."
These are harsh truths that Doc does not want to hear. Part of it makes sense to him, but yet change doesn't happen in an instance. "I can't just act like it's OK that I failed. I had everything planned, I was going to win an NCAA Title or two, then wrestle in the Olympics. Now I chase belts and put myself in harm's way to entertain people who will change their mind about me from one day to the next."
"Without that failure, you wouldn't be the driven individual you are today. Remember that. You've succeeded in so many things, because you came short on a goal. So you can look at your failure as a bad thing, but truthfully who knows what happens if you did accomplish your goal." Dr. Eli reminds Doc.
Doc takes a second to ponder all of the information and logic Dr. Eli has told him in the last few minutes. Part of it makes sense to him, but his brain only reminds him of failure and the way not only his wrestling career ended and the way he failed to make it to a big organization such as UFC. "I gotta get going. There's gotta be something I can do, like get lunch or something. I don't know, but I can't keep doing this bullshit.
"I think we need to schedule another appointment, I think we really made a breakthrough today." Dr. Eli says before Doc tries to hang up the phone.
"I'll get a hold of you here pretty soon, I have a pretty busy schedule these next couple of months. So I really don't know if I'll have time." Doc says trying to get out of doing any more therapy sessions.
"I'm going to just put you down for March 7th" Dr. Eli says as he checks his schedule.
"I'm busy, I'm pretty sure." Doc says without checking his schedule.
"I'm going to just keep calling you until you answer. I'm here to help you become the best you can be" Dr. Eli says to confide in Doc.
"I think I'm fine, I'll let you know when I'm available and we'll go from there." Doc says as he hangs up the phone before Dr. Eli can say anything in response. He puts his phone back on the nightstand. Laying there, not knowing what to think, which is not the best headspace for defending his title at Payback.
FADE TO BLACK
The scene opens back up in what looks to be a monument of sorts as the camera pans around and you see that there is a sign that reads 'Guilford Courthouse National Military Park'. As the camera pans around you can see various statues and revolutionary war relics. The camera focuses on Action Wrestling superstar Doc Holiday who stands in between two different statues. He is wearing a grey Dior suit, with a gold tie, and patented gold framed Aviators. He looks around breathing it all in. Men fighting for a cause were once where he stood. The numbers were never in our favor, but a tiny nation took on an empire and brought them to their knees.
"Guilford Courthouse battlegrounds, no better for a man who constantly talks about war to talk about his upcoming battle. Am I right? It's finally time for me to make my first defense against what some might say is a formidable opponent. That's what some might say. But is it really? I mean sure Jonny Cedrone has had success in AW and he's done enough to keep himself relevant, but the truth of the matter is that I don't see one single thing about him that makes him stand out to me. He's been here a little bit longer than me, but what has he really done? Everything that he has done, has been outside of Action Wrestling, and always under what I like to call 'questionable circumstances'. For example, let's talk about your United States title run. You had every opportunity to capture that title while James Freedom was in the good graces of Action Wrestling, but you just couldn't get it done. However, when his backstage antics landed him in hot water with the company, it's sure funny how you were the one who came calling. I'm sure you can say the same thing about me and my reign as CBS Champion, but let's compare and contrast. When you won the United States Title you took a little time off and wrestled one match before Evolution, which was a Six-Pack Tag Match. Then lost to Jessie Lee, who at the time, we can all be honest, was not in her groove yet. I'll give credit where credit is due, even though we don't see eye to eye any more, she's a force. But you didn't face that Jessie Lee. When I won the CBS title I defended it and made the title have value, before it met it's fate. So I've done more for every title than any title you've held here. We are not the same!"
Doc begins walking toward another statue before taking a look at it and reading the little plaque.
"Let's also talk about how you've been a Tag Team Champion, I mean can we really call it that? You were carried by our current World Champion and were never what anyone would call a true tag team. You were put together in order to fill a void then once we had some legit tag teams, you guys couldn't keep the chemistry up. It's OK, you just went back to doing what you were doing before, which was holding an undeserving spot in any match with a significant title attached to it. A spot which any hardworking wrestler in AW could have taken. Instead they put you in, because of past accolades, which I mean how sad. We give shots at some of the biggest titles, because 'Well he was good at one point in his career'. The fans could care less when you walk to the ring Jonny and I know it for a fact. You know the last time I saw a Jonny Cedrone shirt in the stands? NEVER FUCKING EVER! I did see some homeless people outside of the arena digging them out of the dumpster though. So I guess you got that going for you."
Again Doc walks further down the path to see another plaque with more information on it.
"Let's talk some more about you though, and how you think we should feel sorry for you. Let's not forget that you were the SAME individual who fucked over Downfall in the All-In match. You and that little man-crush you have on Gerard Angelo. Do you really think the people will forget about that? Like just because you got a taste of your own medicine we should all now feel sad? FUCK THAT, I have no sympathy for snakes in the grass and I will look to cut the head off the snake at Payback. You would think by now that the whole world would see what you truly are, but they haven't. You'll gain the people's trust once again, only to let them down by showing your true colors, mainly different shades of yellow. You try to pride yourself on character with all the charitable things you do, but they don't take away the fact that the whole world trusts you just about as far as they can throw you. I've never lied about who I was, I've always been about business and I've gotten to where I'm at by any means necessary, I didn't always play nice, but everyone knows who I am and they respect my hustle. Because I hustle and I show up EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY!"
Doc collects himself and then takes his sunglasses off his face and places them in the inside pocket of his suit.
"You're a part-timer here Jon, let's not forget that, because whenever I go through my rolodex in my head of cards here in Action Wrestling, there seem to be a lot of them that don't include Jonny Cedrone. So what do you do? I mean I'm sure you can say 'I run a bunch of businesses', but let's be honest, you don't actually manage anything. We both know that at a certain point you delegate that shit out to someone else. It's no longer your problem, just tell them not to fuck it up or you'll find someone else who won't fuck it up. You come in here and try to play this sympathy card, because you almost died, because you were attacked, but HOW CLOSE were you to death really? You got the money and probably had doctors flown in from all over the world to make sure that you were taken care of in no time. So why is that you get special treatment over anyone else? Why can you skip half the cards and then still show up like you're some sort of head of the table? Any time off that I've ever been given has been well deserved for the blood, sweat, and tears I've given this company. So, you can have your little table and all your little cohorts, because my table has a giant ass map on it with battles, strategies, and a road to the ultimate goal. I'm the General of my own fate and you're the next plot on my map. I hope you still have those doctor's numbers, because after Payback you'll need em...THIS IS WAR!!!"
FADE TO BLACK
"Man, don't you know that when someone ignores your first two attempts on Facetime, they really don't want to talk to you. Like at all" the voice says.
"Desmond, I'm concerned. I haven't talked to you in a couple months and we were really starting to get somewhere with your therapy" the other voice says.
With the little light that the screen produces to make out Action Wrestling Superstar, Doc Holiday's face. "I just haven't had time to schedule an appointment."
"Well you keep rescheduling and you actually forgot to reschedule this one so that's why I called." It is now apparent that this Doc's therapist, Dr. Eli.
"Shit, I knew I forgot something!" Doc says.
"What are you still doing in bed at 11:30 in the morning?" Dr. Eli asks.
Doc looks around for a second, "Truthfully, I don't feel like doing a fucking thing right now, I'm inside my head a lot lately."
"Not too beat a dead horse here, Desmond, but you could have been working through this before it got to that point." a caring, yet slightly annoyed, Dr. Eli says.
"Yeah, I guess, but I'm a man, that's what I'm supposed to do right? Just bury it deep down inside until it finally gets to be too much and I just sit here in bed for a few days and let it all out?" Doc says nonchalantly.
Dr. Eli closes his eyes, slightly annoyed, by the stereotypical words Doc just said. "No, that's not a healthy way to live, Desmond."
"I literally have no one else to vent to. I'm a lone wolf in Action Wrestling, everybody wants a piece of me and nobody's really there to talk to. Even when I was in Tailor Made, was I supposed to tell Jessie this shit? Hell nah, she would've told me to sack up! TFK? Don't make me laugh. Jens? He barely knows where he's at when he wakes up in the morning." Doc explains
"You have my number, you know can always text me if you need me" Dr. Eli says to Doc
Doc gives the same annoyed look that Dr. Eli gave him before, "I'd rather just deal with it exactly how I've always dealt with it. I'm not a bitch."
"Your mental health is just as important as any other health." Dr. Eli explains.
"So I'm supposed to call you any time that I feel like the whole world is against me, that the fans don't really like me, that the only time I feel any real value is when I'm holding a championship around my waist? That if I lose that title, especially now after I worked so hard to get it, that my whole fucking career would be ruined." Doc says in a flurry, without hesitation, saying everything that was on his mind.
Pausing for a moment to take it all in, Dr. Eli takes a second to collect his thoughts. "Your success isn't measured by how many titles you win or if you have a title right now. There are plenty of wrestlers who are still widely renowned that don't carry a title"
"I've never felt that way. I've always been taught that you weren't shit unless you were at the top of the podium, with your coach placing a gold medal around your neck. Then when I couldn't capture that at Iowa, I've always felt like a failure, and I've chased every championship I could" his feelings just pour out as Doc explains how he feels.
"You have to remember that injuries happen. Besides you gotta do what a ton of other kids only wish they could do." Dr. Eli says reassuring Doc.
"Like what? Fail at the biggest level?" Doc says with a snarky attitude.
"For one, you got to wrestle at the collegiate level somewhat successfully, and second of all, you got to wrestle and start at the most prestigious wrestling school. The University of Iowa." Dr. Eli points out Doc's accomplishments.
"But I never won an NCAA title" Doc brings up something that apparently still plagues him today. Something that still eats at him like an obsessive that reminds him every day.
"I'm going to tell you something Desmond, and it might not sink in until later, but I have to tell a lot of children this." Dr. Eli pauses for a second. "What's in the past is in the past. You can't go back and change it. If you obsess over it, it will only continue to leak into other parts of your life. That's what's happening to you right now. That's why you go through phases like this."
These are harsh truths that Doc does not want to hear. Part of it makes sense to him, but yet change doesn't happen in an instance. "I can't just act like it's OK that I failed. I had everything planned, I was going to win an NCAA Title or two, then wrestle in the Olympics. Now I chase belts and put myself in harm's way to entertain people who will change their mind about me from one day to the next."
"Without that failure, you wouldn't be the driven individual you are today. Remember that. You've succeeded in so many things, because you came short on a goal. So you can look at your failure as a bad thing, but truthfully who knows what happens if you did accomplish your goal." Dr. Eli reminds Doc.
Doc takes a second to ponder all of the information and logic Dr. Eli has told him in the last few minutes. Part of it makes sense to him, but his brain only reminds him of failure and the way not only his wrestling career ended and the way he failed to make it to a big organization such as UFC. "I gotta get going. There's gotta be something I can do, like get lunch or something. I don't know, but I can't keep doing this bullshit.
"I think we need to schedule another appointment, I think we really made a breakthrough today." Dr. Eli says before Doc tries to hang up the phone.
"I'll get a hold of you here pretty soon, I have a pretty busy schedule these next couple of months. So I really don't know if I'll have time." Doc says trying to get out of doing any more therapy sessions.
"I'm going to just put you down for March 7th" Dr. Eli says as he checks his schedule.
"I'm busy, I'm pretty sure." Doc says without checking his schedule.
"I'm going to just keep calling you until you answer. I'm here to help you become the best you can be" Dr. Eli says to confide in Doc.
"I think I'm fine, I'll let you know when I'm available and we'll go from there." Doc says as he hangs up the phone before Dr. Eli can say anything in response. He puts his phone back on the nightstand. Laying there, not knowing what to think, which is not the best headspace for defending his title at Payback.
FADE TO BLACK
The scene opens back up in what looks to be a monument of sorts as the camera pans around and you see that there is a sign that reads 'Guilford Courthouse National Military Park'. As the camera pans around you can see various statues and revolutionary war relics. The camera focuses on Action Wrestling superstar Doc Holiday who stands in between two different statues. He is wearing a grey Dior suit, with a gold tie, and patented gold framed Aviators. He looks around breathing it all in. Men fighting for a cause were once where he stood. The numbers were never in our favor, but a tiny nation took on an empire and brought them to their knees.
"Guilford Courthouse battlegrounds, no better for a man who constantly talks about war to talk about his upcoming battle. Am I right? It's finally time for me to make my first defense against what some might say is a formidable opponent. That's what some might say. But is it really? I mean sure Jonny Cedrone has had success in AW and he's done enough to keep himself relevant, but the truth of the matter is that I don't see one single thing about him that makes him stand out to me. He's been here a little bit longer than me, but what has he really done? Everything that he has done, has been outside of Action Wrestling, and always under what I like to call 'questionable circumstances'. For example, let's talk about your United States title run. You had every opportunity to capture that title while James Freedom was in the good graces of Action Wrestling, but you just couldn't get it done. However, when his backstage antics landed him in hot water with the company, it's sure funny how you were the one who came calling. I'm sure you can say the same thing about me and my reign as CBS Champion, but let's compare and contrast. When you won the United States Title you took a little time off and wrestled one match before Evolution, which was a Six-Pack Tag Match. Then lost to Jessie Lee, who at the time, we can all be honest, was not in her groove yet. I'll give credit where credit is due, even though we don't see eye to eye any more, she's a force. But you didn't face that Jessie Lee. When I won the CBS title I defended it and made the title have value, before it met it's fate. So I've done more for every title than any title you've held here. We are not the same!"
Doc begins walking toward another statue before taking a look at it and reading the little plaque.
"Let's also talk about how you've been a Tag Team Champion, I mean can we really call it that? You were carried by our current World Champion and were never what anyone would call a true tag team. You were put together in order to fill a void then once we had some legit tag teams, you guys couldn't keep the chemistry up. It's OK, you just went back to doing what you were doing before, which was holding an undeserving spot in any match with a significant title attached to it. A spot which any hardworking wrestler in AW could have taken. Instead they put you in, because of past accolades, which I mean how sad. We give shots at some of the biggest titles, because 'Well he was good at one point in his career'. The fans could care less when you walk to the ring Jonny and I know it for a fact. You know the last time I saw a Jonny Cedrone shirt in the stands? NEVER FUCKING EVER! I did see some homeless people outside of the arena digging them out of the dumpster though. So I guess you got that going for you."
Again Doc walks further down the path to see another plaque with more information on it.
"Let's talk some more about you though, and how you think we should feel sorry for you. Let's not forget that you were the SAME individual who fucked over Downfall in the All-In match. You and that little man-crush you have on Gerard Angelo. Do you really think the people will forget about that? Like just because you got a taste of your own medicine we should all now feel sad? FUCK THAT, I have no sympathy for snakes in the grass and I will look to cut the head off the snake at Payback. You would think by now that the whole world would see what you truly are, but they haven't. You'll gain the people's trust once again, only to let them down by showing your true colors, mainly different shades of yellow. You try to pride yourself on character with all the charitable things you do, but they don't take away the fact that the whole world trusts you just about as far as they can throw you. I've never lied about who I was, I've always been about business and I've gotten to where I'm at by any means necessary, I didn't always play nice, but everyone knows who I am and they respect my hustle. Because I hustle and I show up EVERY SINGLE FUCKING DAY!"
Doc collects himself and then takes his sunglasses off his face and places them in the inside pocket of his suit.
"You're a part-timer here Jon, let's not forget that, because whenever I go through my rolodex in my head of cards here in Action Wrestling, there seem to be a lot of them that don't include Jonny Cedrone. So what do you do? I mean I'm sure you can say 'I run a bunch of businesses', but let's be honest, you don't actually manage anything. We both know that at a certain point you delegate that shit out to someone else. It's no longer your problem, just tell them not to fuck it up or you'll find someone else who won't fuck it up. You come in here and try to play this sympathy card, because you almost died, because you were attacked, but HOW CLOSE were you to death really? You got the money and probably had doctors flown in from all over the world to make sure that you were taken care of in no time. So why is that you get special treatment over anyone else? Why can you skip half the cards and then still show up like you're some sort of head of the table? Any time off that I've ever been given has been well deserved for the blood, sweat, and tears I've given this company. So, you can have your little table and all your little cohorts, because my table has a giant ass map on it with battles, strategies, and a road to the ultimate goal. I'm the General of my own fate and you're the next plot on my map. I hope you still have those doctor's numbers, because after Payback you'll need em...THIS IS WAR!!!"
FADE TO BLACK